Pâtisserie and Baking Certificate Program

Program Overview

The Le Cordon Bleu Pâtisserie and Baking Certificate is designed to prepare you for a career in the pastry industry. You will spend a significant amount of time in our commercial kitchens practicing and perfecting your skills. Experienced chefs-will demonstrate baking and pastry proficiencies and mentor you as you develop your creativity.

This hands-on program is all about food. You can dive right in and being to learn. As you practice precision techniques, you’ll produce an assortment of basic to advanced bakery goods, pastries and centerpieces.

Working with your hands, gain an understanding of how yeast works, and the importance of timing and recipe development:

Experience New Horizons: International Pastries, Cake Formula and Assembly

Explore the world of classical European desserts, and the art of assembling, finishing, and decorating cakes with various fillings and icings. As a part of this baking and pastry arts school, you’ll work hands on to create:

Focus on plated desserts; move on to grander scale centerpieces and wedding cakes:

Tempering chocolate, piping, and preparing sauces and garnishes.

Pâtisserie and Baking Market Basket practical.

More elaborate decorations with pastillage, chocolate, gum paste, cooked sugar, nougatine, and marzipan as you gain the skills to produce celebration cakes.

Create candies, showpieces, and centerpieces.

* This program is offered as a 12 month Certificate in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking at the Le Cordon Bleu campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Seattle, and St. Louis. (In Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando this program is officially known as the Diploma in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking.)

Get a Real-World Perspective: Externship I and II

Our baking and pastry arts school will help you bring it all together and put your skills into practice in an actual business environment:

Work alongside pâtisserie and baking professionals.

Refine your skills and creativity.

Gain irreplaceable immersion in the industry with 180 hours of progressive work-place experience.*

Stay with the same site or explore somewhere new for your second externship.

* The 9 month certificate program offered in Boston, Sacramento, Seattle, and St. Louis, includes one externship course (90 hours).

What You Can Do Here

Understand fundamental baking principles and skills

Study theoretical knowledge for basic competency

Acquire a well-informed perspective through exposure to the different styles of our chef-instructors

Receive training in sanitation principles as they apply to the professional kitchen

Develop professionalism appropriate to the hospitality industry

Prepare Viennoiserie

Explore international pâtisserie, cake formula, and assembly

Learn advanced pâtisserie and chocolate techniques

Get creative with centerpieces and cake decoration techniques

Possible Careers*

Pastry Cook

Pastry Chef

Baker

Pastry Assistant

Baker/Decorator

Cake Decorator

Assistant Pastry Chef

Baker/Manager

Baker/Retail

Bakery Service Team Member

Cake Baker

Cook II

Executive Pastry Chef

Head Baker

Kitchen Manager/Baker

Morning Baker

Overnight Baker

Owner

Pastry Chef/Runner

Pastry Chef/Specialty Chef

Pastry Instructor

Pastry Plater

* Upon completion of the program, graduates should have the skills needed to pursue career opportunities in the culinary industry at an entry level. The various titles of “chef” generally apply to more advanced roles in the professional kitchen (for example, Sous Chef, Executive Chef). Graduates should not expect to become chefs upon graduation but are encouraged to work toward becoming a chef through the course of their careers. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary.

Gainful Emploment and other Student Disclosures

To see Gainful Employment and other disclosures, start by selecting a location or Online from the dropdown below:

Employment Rates

Given the fact that all of the rates reflected below are based on historical data and were subject to varying levels of audit and re-interpretation, students should not rely on them as an implicit or explicit representation or promise of future outcomes or employability following completion of a program of study. Indeed, there are numerous factors that affect a student’s ability to graduate and secure employment over which we have little or no control. Therefore, our school cannot and does not guarantee or estimate the likelihood of on-time completion, graduation, or employment for any student.

- GRADUATION RATE

The percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who started between
and who completed within 150% of the normal time period:

Graduation Rate

A first-time student has no prior postsecondary experience before enrolling at this campus. This means that a student who attended another college, university or other postsecondary school before enrolling at this school is not included in the calculation. The rate also does not include students initially enrolled part-time, taking individual classes (as compared to enrolling in a full program), or only auditing classes. These rates are calculated using the Student Right-to-Know formula in order to comply with U.S. Department of Education requirements. The statistics track all first-time, full-time and certificate or degree-seeking undergraduate students who began school during the date range and have completed within 150% of the normal program length. For example, for a two-year program, the graduation rate would include students who had completed within three years of beginning the program. This statistic is not specific to one program alone; rather, all applicable undergraduate programs are included in this overall rate. Information pertaining to the Graduation Rates of all postsecondary institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be found on the College Navigator website. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Find employment rates, financial obligations and other disclosures at chefs.edu/disclosures. Financial aid is available for those who qualify. Program offerings may vary by campus. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. Credits earned at Le Cordon Bleu are unlikely to transfer externally, but Le Cordon Bleu credits will transfer within Le Cordon Bleu if you choose to continue on and pursue a higher degree program with us. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary.

Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo, and Cordon Vert® are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation in the United States and Canada for education services. Cordontec® is a registered trademark of Career Education Corporation in the United States for education services.